How to make pizza without an oven, and all the tools you need

ICYMI:   * Even without an oven, it's easy to prepare pizza at home, whether you're making it from scratch or simply heating up a frozen pie. * You likely already have all the tools required to make pizza without an oven in your kitchen, or you can pick up a couple of inexpensive yet efficient appliances you'll likely use for more than making pizza. * We recommend Calphalon's toaster oven as an oven substitute, Lodge cast iron pans for stovetop pizza, and the Maxi Nature Kitchenware pizza pans for grilling. * See more: The best pizza ovens While various forms of flatbreads topped with cheeses, meats, vegetables, and herbs have been consumed for centuries by civilizations around the world, pizza, as we know it today, has only been around for about 250 years. We have the working-class residents of late 1700s Naples to thank as pizza was their main food group in that era. Though disdained as peasant food for nearly a century after it became commonplace, many of the pies these 18th century Neapolitans were eating closely resemble pizzas still enjoyed today, such as the Pizza Mozzarella, later renamed the Margherita pizza in honor of Italy's Queen Margherita a century later. Today, most of us can have a pizza delivered to our door in a matter of minutes after we order over the phone or online. There are also a plethora of frozen pizza options that cook up into surprisingly delectable dinners. And finally, of course, there is always homemade pizza. Making pizza from scratch is actually quite simple and, with a bit of practice, arguably the best way to enjoy pizza, as you can control every aspect of the process, from dough consistency to cheese quantity to toppings to seasoning and so on. If you're interested in making your own pizza, consider the book "The Elements of Pizza" by Ken Forkish, and check out our guide to everything you need to make pizza at home. Even if you're making it from scratch, reheating last night's takeout, or picking up a frozen pie, the one thing you don't need is an oven. This is great news for anyone without a working oven or anyone who just doesn't want to wait 15 minutes for it to heat up.  How to make pizza without an oven: How to make pizza in a toaster oven So you want to bake a pizza, whether fresh or frozen, but you don't have a conventional oven? Zero problem. The easiest solution here is to get a countertop electric oven, aka a toaster oven that plugs into any outlet and no gas line connection required. Many countertop ovens are compact, affordable, and will fit the smaller space of a cramped apartment. On the lower end of the budget range, consider the $64 Hamilton Beach Easy Reach Toaster Oven, which can bake a pizza up to 12-inches in diameter. At the other end of the price spectrum, the $193 Calphalon Quartz Heat Countertop Toaster Oven can also cook up 12-inch pies, and thanks to its 11 preset cooking functions — including pizza, toast, bake, broil, and more — it can cook just about anything else too. It also comes with a pizza pan. You can check out more toaster oven options in our buying guide. Product Embed: Product Name: Hamilton Beach Easy Reach Countertop Toaster Oven Card Type: small https://produktor.businessinsider.com/productCardService?id=5e67b85084159f3d815de6f2&type=small&live=true Width: 100% Height: 150%Product Embed: Product Name: Calphalon Quartz Heat Countertop Oven Card Type: small https://produktor.businessinsider.com/productCardService?id=5db0a08b4af90960694987a7&type=small&live=true Width: 100% Height: 150% How to make pizza on the stove While surely the easiest way to make pizza without a conventional oven is to simply make it with a countertop oven, that's far from the only way. Stovetop pizza can be delicious to eat and fun to make, as long as you pay close attention to the cooking process. While you can make stovetop pizza in just about any decent pan, a seasoned cast iron skillet is the best choice for even cooking and great flavor. I recommend a pre-seasoned $38.11 Lodge 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet. Here's how to use it. * Drizzle two to three tablespoons of olive, grapeseed, or avocado oil into the pan and turn the burner to medium heat. * Stretch out fresh dough to fit the diameter of the pan, and make sure your sauce, cheese, and toppings are ready and nearby. * Place dough into the pan and allow it to cook for about three minutes until the bottom is browning nicely. * Flip dough and quickly apply sauce, cheese, and toppings atop the cooked half. * Cook for three to four additional minutes, covering pan if need be to ensure even and thorough melting. And that's it! Not only is stovetop pizza faster than baked pizza, but it's also often tastier too in my humble opinion, as the seasoning of the cast iron imparts a rich, herb and spice flavor. Read our guide to the best cast iron pans you can buy. Product Embed: Product Name: Lodge 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet Card Type: small https://produktor.businessinsider.com/productCardService?id=5e67b9a384159f3f0062ecc8&type=small&live=true Width: 100% Height: 150% How to make pizza on the grill Grilled pizza can be a messy affair compared to making pizza on the stove or in a toaster oven. If your dough is too soft, it might drip down past the grates, wasting the food and leading to the most intense grill cleaning session of your life. It's also easy to burn the pie and ruin it that way, too, especially on the first few attempts. But with patience and practice, grilled pizza will taste as good as the brick oven-fired stuff you get from the finest pizzeria in town. Especially if you cook with added wood chips or cook using a pellet stove for that genuine wood-fired oven taste. I recommend a good pizza grill pan, which can help keep the dough intact as it cooks. Pro tip: Get a set of two, and place one under the raw dough one on top. This way, it's easier to flip without ruining the shape or flattening the dough. * Heat your gas grill to about 600 degrees Fahrenheit, or get a charcoal grill fully lit and evenly burning. * Stretch and roll your dough, then brush both sides with oil. * Place dough on the grill (ideally on a pan) and cook for three minutes without closing the lid so you can watch out for charring. * Flip the dough, then immediately apply sauce, cheese, and topping. * Close the grill, and cook for an additional three minutes before checking to see if the pie is ready. Which it probably will be. Product Embed: Product Name: Traeger All-Natural Hardwood Pellets Card Type: small https://produktor.businessinsider.com/productCardService?id=5e67ba7754f25c3dcf3ef57e&type=small&live=true Width: 100% Height: 150%Product Embed: Product Name: Maxi Nature Kitchenware Pizza Pans (2-pack) Card Type: small https://produktor.businessinsider.com/productCardService?id=5e67bae2e4f9fe4144097bb4&type=small&live=true Width: 100% Height: 150% How to make (frozen) pizza in the microwave You can't cook decent fresh pizza in a microwave. Sorry, but I don't make the rules. But you can re-heat pies or cook frozen pizza in the ubiquitous appliance. Add some herbs like fresh or dried basil, or even pepper flakes beforehand, and then just follow the instructions on the package. If you don't have a microwave, check out our guide to the best microwaves you can buy. Product Embed: Product Name: Maxi Nature Kitchenware Pizza Pans (2-pack) Card Type: small https://produktor.businessinsider.com/productCardService?id=5e67bae2e4f9fe4144097bb4&type=small&live=true Width: 100% Height: 150% Check out our guide on what you need to make pizza at home The best pizza-making tools you can buy Delicious homemade pizza is not only more affordable than ordering out, but with the right tools and tips, it also tastes better. We've rounded up the best pizza-making tools to start you on your way to achieving master status. Whether you go all-out making your dough and sauce from scratch or just prefer to find convenient solutions that allow you to throw together a quick pie, we've got the best of the best for your pizza making needs.
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